The election is fast approaching, and Democrats and Republicans across the country have been working to promote candidates from their respective parties. Students on campus have also been working to educate their peers about the election, and the parties’ nominations.
ONU College Democrats is an organization on campus intended to encourage other students to perform their civic duty and vote. The organization has paired with Ohio Students for Biden to provide students with up-to-date information on the Biden-Harris campaign. ONU College Democrats also partnered with the Hardin County Democrats to give students an opportunity to work with a larger organization, and bring accurate information to students on campus.
As an organization of political leaders here on campus, President Alex Bowen said the organization recognizes the responsibility it has to inform students. “We accept anyone who wants to share our values or become educated through us, and we know this is our role as an organization of political leaders on this campus. We have open minds to understanding the problems in our political system, but also to the facts and what is true, not just what is fabricated to make ourselves look better as Democrats as a whole.”
With COVID-19, the organization is urging students to be registered to vote and request an absentee ballot to cast their vote from campus prior to Election Day. They have posted several times about how to make sure you are registered to vote and also how to request an absentee ballot.
ONU College Republicans, another organization of students focused on informing fellow students about the upcoming election and the candidates, is also pushing for students to register to vote. President Cassidy Deckling said the organization has been looking into ways of delivering information to students in ways that are within the COVID-19 guidelines and policies. “We believe that it is vital that students have access to quality information about candidates and issues before they get to the ballot box—or mailbox!”
Both organizations agree that this election is one that will go down in history. ONU College Republicans member Jeorgia Templin said, “There is no doubt that 2020 will go down in history. America is more divided than ever so citizens’ influence on which candidate they vote for is crucial to them. Citizens across the United States are very polarized and this is causing lots of conflict in our country.”
Bowen said that ONU College Democrats is pushing for students to get involved in this election for several reasons.
This election, especially for college students or going to be college students, as what happens these next four years, can determine their economic and social opportunities and potentially hardships. Numbers show that voter turnout for this election has the potential to be record breaking; and we have made it our mission to partner with the various political organizations on campus to register as many eligible voters as possible.”
Alex Bowen
Connect with ONU College Democrats on Instagram or Twitter to access the biweekly Zoom meetings at 6pm on Tuesdays.
Connect with ONU College Republicans on Instagram for more information on how to get involved. Meetings for ONU College Republicans are at 8pm on Tuesdays.